1st of February 2017

2016 record year for Macedonia’s Airports

Last year proved to be the busiest on record for Macedonia’s Airports with nearly 1.8 million passengers served. Both airports recorded double digit growth and achieved the best results on record in 2016. Skopje “Alexander the Great” Airport maintained its position as one of the fastest growing airports in Europe and the region with 1.649.376 passengers handled and grew by 13.6% in 2016.

The airport has made great strides in recent years with the entry of the airport operator TAV Macedonia 2010, as well as the opening of the new terminal and cargo building in 2011 which significantly boosted capacity. In retrospect, in the past decade, passenger numbers on “Alexander the Great” have grown by a fantastic 304%, from 547.198 passengers served in 2006 to almost 1.65 million passengers last year, probably making it the fastest growing airport serving a capital in Europe. 2016 marked the seventh consecutive year of growth for Skopje Airport, with the past four years being particularly successful with double digit growth achieved in each of them.

Hand in hand with the growth of passenger numbers the Airport saw an expansion of the network of routes and the number of available seats on flights to and from Skopje. The entry of the low cost carrier Wizz Air in 2011 has been instrumental in this respect. In the five years since its entry on the Macedonian market, Skopje Airport has become Wizz Air's largest base in the region with three aircraft stationed in the city and a busy network spanning more than 20 different routes to attractive European destinations. The continuous addition of new routes has resulted in a significant increase of the country's overall available seat capacity. The number of available seats for sale rose by 14.8% in 2016 alone, making it the fastest growing market in the region in this segment.

For the third year in a row, Istanbul (Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports counted together) was the busiest route in and out of Skopje with a 12.6% passenger share, followed by Zurich with 10.2%, Vienna with 6.3%, Basel with 5%, Malmo with 4.8% and London with a 4.3% passenger share.

Wizz Air handled the largest number of passengers, boasting a 54.8% market share, followed by Turkish Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Germania Flug and Pegasus Airlines.